Pagdanganan seeks to get better for next LPGA bid

MANILA, Philippines – She’s got the power and the nerves, but Bianca Pagdanganan admits there’s so much learn, including dealing with anxiety and the adrenalin rush in pressure-packed settings.

“My nerves are okay…but just have to learn how to embrace it,” said Pagdanganan after launching her pro campaign with a joint 28th effort in the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio last Sunday.

It was not a kind of finish the power-hitting SEA Games double gold medalist had wished to churn out but while her long game clicked, even clinching the driving honors in the 54-hole event, she struggled with her short game and putting.

“I wished I could’ve done better,” she added, pointing to her struggle with her irons and putting in tough conditions at Inverness Club.

But she expects to get better this week as the same Drive On field heads to the last of back-to-back championships in Ohio for the Marathon Classic, which gets going Thursday at the Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania.

“The two courses are very different so I’ll see what adjustments I have to make,” added the ICTSI-backed shotmaker, who sampled the 6686-yard Highland Meadows layout yesterday.

After proving she’s a strong force to reckon with in long game, Pagdanganan, who posted a 295-yard driving norm at Inverness, hopes to put it all together this week, including ball-striking and putting.

But she also has to face a slew of talented, more experienced players also out to prove their worth, headed by Danielle Kang of the US, who is bidding to complete a sweep of the Ohio events after edging Frenchwoman Celine Boutier by one in Drive On.

World No. 2 Nelly Korda is also out to atone for her mediocre tied for 40th finish last week, along with the likes of fellow Americans Lexi Thompson and Lizettle Salas, Aussies Minjee Lee and Lydia Ko, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, Korean Amy Yang, England’s Jodi Shadoff and Chinese Yu Liu and former Major winners Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang of the US and Swede Pernilla Lindberg.

Meanwhile, Dottie Ardina seeks redemption after a missed-cut stint at Drive On with the Canlubang pro hoping to settle down and recover her rhythm and bearing after turning a pair of 78s at Inverness.